Canine Body Language: turning away

What does it mean when your dog turns away from you? Is he blowing you off or maybe expressing his guilt when he refuses to meet your eyes?

Possibly. But more likely, one of you is a little stressed.

Sharri turns her head away and blinks, uncomfortable with the camera pointed at her.

Turning away is one way that many dogs try to diffuse tense situations. They may do this to lower their own stress level or in an attempt to soothe a person or another dog. Nothing makes me more sad than to watch a dog turn his back on his owner and sniff in an effort to calm her down, only to get collar popped or reprimanded for ignoring her.

Duke (Lab cross) turns and looks away as Brewster jumps on him and stares. This communicates his discomfort with the younger dog’s rude behavior.

Does your dog use look-aways or turn away from you in certain situations? What circumstances are most likely to provoke this response?

13 responses to “Canine Body Language: turning away”

One of the first times I realized that looking away was indicating stress was when I tried to introduce Brodie to my Guinea Pig, and all he would do is look away from it. This was back long before I ever heard of calming signals or understood much about body language.

Okee but what if a dog comes to you and sits between your legs with her back to you, and if i do nothing she will tilt her hed to me and push with her nose untill i start to give her some attention.
if i ignore her she will slide down on the floor an starts to try and touch my hands with her front paws , i think she is asking for a belly rub.and attention.